First tea party lawsuit against IRS

A California tea party group sued the IRS on Monday, the first lawsuit in the wake of revelations the agency singled out conservative groups for scrutiny, according to a report.

The NorCal Tea Party Patriots filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, according to Reuters, arguing its constitutional rights were violated when the IRS targeted its application for nonprofit status. The lawsuit seeks class-action status, meaning it could become the major suit between conservative groups and the IRS.

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“The IRS engaged in a tactic of suffocating NorCal Tea Party Patriots and other similarly situated groups with requests that were so searching and extensive that they would have presented a serious challenge even for sophisticated businesses,” the Colfax, Calif.-based group wrote in its complaint.

The group alleges it applied for tax-exempt status in March 2010 but didn’t receive approval until Aug. 2 of last year. The lawsuit accuses the IRS of violating the First and Fifth amendments and seeks monetary damages.

The lawsuit is backed by Citizens for Self-Governance, a group launched by Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler.